FREEMAN'S LANDS (a.k.a. THE WASTES)
The Land
Simply walking among the boglands of the Freeman's Lands can be disconcerting to the uninitiated. In place, the ground quivers like a gelatinous mass and the traveler is reminded that in many places just a pack skin of vegetation holds them above the water. Small hillocks rise from the grasses and mire like islands among a green, quivering sea. Travel on foot is safest as the weight of many beasts of burden or mounts is dangerous on the unpredictable surface. True to the rest of Eyru, the climate is mild and frequently overcast, though morning and night bring thick blankets of fog to the area.
Important Factions and Individuals
The "Freemen" hold these lands. Or as labeled by many of Eyru's citizens, the "Ignoble". Mostly comprised of individuals who have been ousted from their clans through word of law or vigilante pursuits, these rough individuals have settled in Eyru's most unforgiving of terrains. Marsh land and deep bogs cover this area and it is unsuitable for most standard farming. Among this barren landscape however they manage to survive and create an interesting society all their own.
While a determined farmer may find suitable areas to plant their crops, most of this area's inhabitants live meager lives off of the fruit of others labor. On occasion, they provide hard labor for neighboring clans or even mercenary services. High Clan Erinin is most common in employing these "Ignoble" folk, though it is always a hushed affair. To the business minded, no cheaper labor can be found (aside from slaves--who actually have more value as a permanent or temporarily guaranteed source of free labor). High Clan Steairn is the most prolific in hiring mercenaries from the Ignoble, despite the geographic distance. It is even commonly assumed that the leaders of High Clan Steairn even finance some of their banditry. A thorn in the side of High Clan Erinin or High Clan Tairan is at least an amusing victory for the Servants of the Flame.
The bandits are constantly at odds with neighboring authorities. Chief among them is King Teigh Mac Eoghan, who wages a constant battle with the varying bandit factions. Teigh is a man of action, not at all content to be away from the more common front; High Clan Steairn's border with High Clan Tairan. The bandits, therefore, receive the brunt of his frustration. Teigh frequently organizes the clans under his authority and launches counter raids into the bogs. It is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and never with a clear winner.
Aside from the difficulty of the terrain, Teigh meets limited success for there is truly little in the way of organization to the people of the Wastes. Bandit groups rarely seek alliances with each other and more often wage petty wars among themselves. Most commonly, groups stay small and under a single leader which is ideal for quick raids on nearby settlements. However, there are a few individuals of note who control slightly more organized, and powerful factions.
Eamonn is an older man in his early sixties. He is clean shaven and has a head of wispy grey hair. His eyes are light, nearly iridescent blue, and his face is always drawn in an expression of brooding. He is a druid, forced from his home with High Clan Tairan. Word among his followers in the Wastes is that he was a victim of politics and superstition, though he rarely speaks of the issue. According to the story, he was kicked out of his clan for his reverence of the Elder Gods above those of the more recent ancestors, The Founders. Eamonn does not deny this and and actually speaks of the Founders with a good deal of hostility. Eamonn recognizes them as powerful ancestors who have no doubt established themselves as great people in the Otherworld as well. However, he speaks of them in accusatory tones with regard to the Divide. He believes that veneration of the Elder Gods would do more to reunite the Eyrian people. His ideas were supposedly viewed with great suspicion by his fellow clansmen. Officially, he was kicked out of his clan for delivering false judgment in a crucial trial. Some say he was doomed to fail.
When Eamonn came to the Wastes, he brought with him his ideas of unity. He quickly gained a loyal following and successfully established the first permanent city along the western coast of the Wastes. As a brehon, law was of great importance to Eamonn. At this settlement, he sought to bring some degree of civilization to the region. The inhabitants at large had different ideas. While a small core of wanderers stayed true to Eamonn's vision, most simply welcomed the city as a place to further their own rugged lives. Bandits began trading stolen wares in the city center by day, drunken revelry ruled the streets at night. Eamonn's attempts to control this failed time after time. Eventually, worn down by the persistence of the general population and jaded by the widespread indecency, Eamonn left his fledgling city.
Ownership of the city quickly fell into the hands of a bandit by the name of Gaelyn. Many even suspected that Eamonn's increasing loss of influence had been part of a subversive plot masterminded by Gaelyn himself.
Gaelyn was mostly unknown among the Freeman's lands until he seized control of Eamonn's abandoned settlement. He and a loyal group of ruffians quickly gained control of the town, first by raiding the newly built blacksmith. Little was made of it by many of the disorganized factions left in the city. Some of the larger faction's leaders did take note and plotted to take the key location for their own. A steady place (and skilled labor) to produce arms, armor and other metal goods among the wastes was perhaps the town's key feature. Gaelyn would have none of it though. Before the attempts were even made, many times before word of it even left a bandit gang's inner most circle, the gangs often found their leader victim of a gruesome death.
Within weeks, Gaelyn had removed the majority of his competition or brought them under his direct control. Within a month, he forced all not sworn to him out of the city and closed it to all traffic. He and his men then toiled at improving the town's defenses. All the while, rumor began to build about Gaelyn's uncanny knack for gathering information. In hushed whispers, people spoke of him as a seer, or a sorcerer from the Otherworld. Gaelyn's own propensity for secrecy only fueled the tales.
After several weeks, the city was reopened to traffic but under strict regulations. Travelers are now forced to remove all weapons save daggers or perhaps walking sticks (common among the boglands) before entry. Entrance is also closely monitored and large groups seeking admittance are broken up, cutting their chances of providing a threat to Gaelyn's authority. Regulations within the city are few though Gaelyn's men roam the streets, armed with iron weapons and armor. They enforce the laws they see fit; laws which guarantee their superiority. It is also commonly understood that even more guards fill the common crowds, unobserved and always listening.
None who enter complain at the arbitrariness of the rules though. Tir Gaelyn still provides the only reminder of civilization among the Freeman's Lands. It offers one of the few places these nomadic, bandits can meet to enjoy a pint under a well covered roof, share their tales of adventure, and trade their "hard earned" goods. It also has the only dock many of them will ever have access to.
Gaelyn is rarely seen by the general populace or the visitors of Tir Gaelyn and he prefers it that way. Often times he is away, leaving his lieutenant in charge. Gaelyn's reputation for gathering information is well earned, as he often leads his men to some of the most profitable piracy and raids one can imagine, thus ensuring their loyalty.
Bran of the Moors is a dark man with a slightly evil countenance. His body is covered in tattoos and he wears his hear washed back with lime; a battle tradition of many of the Eyrian ancestors. Bran has an unmatched thirst for blood and is rumored to be the Morigu (An aspect of Badb, the Battle Crow) incarnate. Once a Servant of the Flame for High Clan Steairn, He is now a devout follower of Badb. He lives among the Wastes, part by choice and part by fate.
Little if anything is known about him and even his followers are secretive in their everyday activities. They too sport the same tattoos and lime washed hair, contorted into unique styles. They often travel to Tir Gaelyn to trade or even venture out among the civilized lands with quality otter and fox pelts. Along with Bran, they control the trapping trade within the Freeman's lands. They control it mostly by fear. Any competition is seen as invitation to test their worth in battle; and in battle, they rarely lose. Bran also often leads his men as mercenaries for High Clan Steairn, composing a well-known and feared strike force known for their reckless ruthlessness.
Maps